The Regional Center Program Has Been Reauthorized Through December 7th, 2018 Through Another Continuing Resolution

On September 28th, 2018, the President signed a spending package that included a continuing resolution extending various aspects of 2018 appropriations, including regional center program authorization, through 12/7/2018 (or until the next new legislation) as part of H.R. 6157 Department of Defense and Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Act, 2019 and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2019.

See below for a history of regional center program authorization since 1992

The Continuing Resolution means that the regional center program remains authorized as-is until December 7, 2018, or until the enactment of a new law that reauthorizes or excludes the regional center program going forward. However, we can not expect more legislation until at least mid November at earliest, as the House of Representatives has gone on recess as of September 28 and will not reconvene until November 13.

For more details on the continuing resolution and proposed legislation, visit Lucid Text’s Washington Updates page: (https://blog.lucidtext.com/washington-updates/#RC)

IIUSA Files Amicus Brief in Support of Visa Backlog Litigation

The non-profit EB-5 trade organization of the EB-5 regional center industry, Invest in the USA (IIUSA), filed an Amicus Brief in support of the plaintiffs of federal litigation (Case No.: 18-cv-1732-TSC) that seeks relief to the growing visa backlog for the EB-5 visa category.

“IIUSA supports the litigation to relieve the EB-5 visa backlog issue in order to keep this economic development program alive and well for the future,” said IIUSA Interim Executive Director, Aaron Grau. “There is a legal solution to provide significant relief to the thousands of well-intentioned immigrants waiting in line to not only bring their families to the U.S., but to make meaningful financial investments into communities all around the country.”

The brief augments the plaintiffs claim that a simple and legal solution to the visa backlog issue that provides immediate relief is for derivatives of EB-5 investors to not be counted towards the annual per country cap. “Derivatives” refers to the spouse and children under 21 years of age of the immigrant filing for and making the investment for the EB-5 visa.

IIUSA President Robert Kraft said, “It was important that we file this brief in order to have IIUSA’s support of visa relief on record for the court, our members, and EB-5 investors and their families. Finding a workable solution to the visa backlog would be of benefit to not just the EB-5 industry, but the entire country, as it makes available more visas which in turn means more investments to important local economic development projects across the U.S.”

IIUSA is committed to securing a long and sustainable future for the EB-5 Program so it can continue to deliver on its promise and purpose to transform communities with revitalization and American job creation through foreign direct investment.

The Amicus Brief is available in full on IIUSA’s website.

Please note: all information in this email has been sourced from EB-5 expert Suzanne Lazicki’s blog, Lucid Text, articles “RC program authorization (12/7/2018)“, originally posted September 28th, 2018, and “Washington Updates“, last updated on September 28th, 2018, as well as IIUSA’s article “IIUSA Files Amicus Brief in Support of Visa Backlog Litigation“, originally posted September 27th, 2018.